Located
at the northern end of the Southern Rhône region, Gramenon is a
little unusual, in that it makes high-end wines from vineyards that
bear no more than the lowly appellation of Côtes du Rhône. The
domaine was set up by Phillipe and Michelle Aubery-Laurent (right) in 1990 and quickly made
a reputation for its concentrated, complex wines from very ripe
grapes, which come mainly from old vines. Phillipe died in an accident
in 1999, but Michelle has continued with the domaine.

I taste a lot of wines, and
it’s not all that often that I’m blown away by a producer’s
range, but this happened here. While these wines are certainly
head-turners, with their ripe, dense fruit, they avoid being overblown
or jammy. They’re ripe, but not overly so. It must be something
about the old vines, or the soils that they are grown in, that makes
it possible to produce wines with this intensely ripe flavour profile
but which are still complex and in balance. The Poignee de Raisin is
utterly joyful: I can’t think of an occasion where I wouldn’t
enjoy this wine. The Sierra du Sud is the essence of warm climate
Syrah, and both La Segesse and Ceps Centenaires manage to capture
Grenache at its best, showing just why some consider it to be the
Pinot Noir of the south.

Gramenon
wines are made in a pretty natural way, with sulphur dioxide used just
at assemblage. Perhaps this is one of the keys to their purity of
fruit; then again, it could make them a bit of a risky proposition. My
view is that you really are better off drinking these wines young
rather than taking a gamble on them in the cellar. I say this for two
reasons: first, they’re so delicious now it’s hard to keep them,
and second because the low sulfur regime might lead to unpredictable
ageing trajectories. That’s not to say they are incapable of ageing,
of course.

Domaine Gramenon Poignee de Raisin 2006This affordable red is made for early drinking, fermented without
any sulphur dioxide (and just 15 ppm free SO2 at bottling), and
bottled unfiltered, this is a joyful wine. It’s made in cement
tanks, with half of the grapes destemmed. The smooth, sweet open nose
is rounded and elegant. The palate is juicy and smooth with a bit of
pepper and meatiness to complement the ripe fruit. Lovely bright
stuff. Very good+ 88/100

Domaine Gramenon Sierra du Sud 2006100% Syrah, half aged for seven months in old oak. Very deep
coloured. Lovely bright perfumed nose has a bit of meatiness along
with super-smooth sweet fruit. The palate is vivid and spicy with good
structure and a dense, meaty richness. Quite a rich wine. Very
good/excellent 93/100

Domaine
Gramenon La Sagesse 2006100% Grenache, half aged in old oak, and with no sulfur additions.
Smooth, open sweet elegant nose is very pure. The palate is smooth
with silky tannins. Lovely purity, elegance and spicy structure. Very
good/excellent 94/100

Domaine Gramenon Ceps Centenaires La Mémé 2005100 year old Grenache vines are the source of this wine, which is
fermented with stems and aged without any sulfur dioxide additions.
Pure, perfumed elegant nose shows aromatic sweet red fruits. The
palate is concentrated, pure and lush, showing great concentration and
smooth spicy structure. Thrilling. Excellent 95/100

UK
availability: these wines were tasted at an event organized by Les
Caves de Pyrene (www.lescaves.co.uk);
H&H Bancroft are also stockists.